Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
Text taken from blog post by Vladimir Shigin
by Vladimir Shigin
These days, a new military-heroic series “Admiral Kuznetsov” produced by Mostelefilm with the support of the Internet Development Institute (directed by Sergei Vinogradov) began to appear on the Internet.
The first thing that caught your eye when you got acquainted with the data on the film was the incredible number of screenwriters, eight people: Valentin Spiridonov, Liliya Vysokovskaya, Alexander Vysokovsky, Oleg Kirillov, Mikhail Kolodinsky, Igor Ter-Karapetov, Igor Torotko, Alexey Boletus! Moreover, none of them had ever had anything to do with the navy and therefore hardly fully understood what they wrote about...
To be honest, knowing the level of historical awareness and responsibility of modern screenwriters and directors, I did not expect anything good from the film in advance. But reality exceeded all expectations.
Once upon a time, writer Karem Rush wrote an essay “Bring Back Kuznetsov!”, dedicated to the history of returning the good name of the former People's Commissar of the Navy and Minister of the Navy of the USSR. Good name N.G. After much ups and downs, Kuznetsov was finally returned in the late 1980s. Alas, today after watching the first episode of the film “Admiral Kuznetsov” I got the impression that it was time to save the legendary People’s Commissar. This time from our zealous and clueless filmmakers...
To get an idea of the series as a whole, let’s first take a detailed look at at least the first episode (there are eight in total!). I think that this is quite enough to understand the general level of the film. So, the first episode of the film begins with a more than strange passage. One of the commanders of the Black Sea Fleet reports to another that German ships unexpectedly began to leave Sevastopol. At the same time, the last German ship, according to the speaker’s calculations, will leave Sevastopol Bay on June 21, 1941. This means that on June 22 the war with Germany will begin. Knowing the further course of events, you cannot argue with the logic of the observant Black Sea commander. The only question is, where did the German merchant ships come from in Sevastopol? How did they even get into the closed main naval base of the Black Sea Fleet? What are they supposed to do there?
If German ships were in our Black Sea ports, then first of all in Odessa, where there really was a large commercial port. But in Sevastopol there was no trace of a trading port! Moreover, in reality, the concern of the People's Commissariat of the Navy was caused not by German ships leaving Sevastopol (or even Odessa), but by ships hastily leaving our Baltic ports. This is exactly what the reports of the commander of the Baltic Fleet V.F. say. Tributsa. Why the scriptwriters needed to turn everything inside out and come up with outright nonsense about Sevastopol is completely unclear.
Further, the People's Commissar of the Navy Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov, being in his office, really wants to meet with I.V. Stalin and report to him about the flight of German ships from Sevastopol. But Stalin does not want to meet with him. I guess because Stalin knew: there were never any German ships in the main base of the Black Sea Fleet, and it only seemed like it to the People’s Commissar of the Navy and his subordinates.
At the same time, Kuznetsov sends his deputy admiral I.S. to the Black Sea Fleet. Isakov so that he could check the combat readiness of the fleet. Meanwhile, at the Reich Chancellery, Grand Admiral Erich Raeder reports to Adolf Hitler that he is ready to attack the Soviet fleet. At the same time, he boasts that his agents daily send fresh photos of the deployment of Soviet warships. To confirm his words, he slips Hitler a photograph of Sevastopol Bay. Hitler looks at her with wide-eyed eyes. And we understand it! Before us is a photograph of Sevastopol Bay... 1916. It clearly shows the dreadnought “Empress Maria”, the battleships “Zlatoust” and “Eustathius”, the cruisers “Memory of Mercury” and “Cahul”... And the cunning Raeder continues to stun the poor Fuhrer. “Here’s a fresh photo of Tallinn!” - he says and slips in another photo from 30 years ago. Hitler's eyes widen even more.
Finally, Raeder pulls out his trump card. “And this is Leningrad!” - he solemnly exclaims and thrusts a photograph of Liepaja harbor to the stunned Hitler... at the end of the 80s! Let's stop the frame and take a closer look at this photo. She's worth it! In the photograph near the piers one can clearly distinguish... the 16th division of Soviet missile submarines in full force. Hitler and the audience can clearly see the Project 629A rocket carriers with ballistic nuclear missiles. Nearby is a brigade of Project 56 missile destroyers. And in the foreground are the ships of the water area protection brigade. Moreover, the small anti-submarine ships of Project 133, just built at the shipyards of the German Democratic Republic, are most clearly visible. What a surprise for the possessed Fuhrer! Poor Hitler is in complete prostration...
It is a pity that Raeder did not explain to the Fuhrer that each of the Soviet Project 629A missile submarines carried three ballistic missiles with a thermonuclear warhead with a megaton yield. If anything, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima had a charge of 10 kilotons, while a megaton has a charge of 1000 kilotons. By the way, in the 16th division there were 14 such missile carriers. This would be enough to wipe out not only Germany, but also all of its allied Europe within a few hours. To be honest, after seeing this photograph, the Fuhrer should have immediately torn the hell out of his Barbarossa plan and run to make peace with Stalin. Because attacking a nuclear power would be madness even for a possessed person!
Probably, in reality, after Hitler viewed this photograph, the film could have ended. In order to at least somehow explain the further behavior of the Germans, we will assume that this photograph was delivered to Raeder by a spy, so neither he nor the Fuhrer, looking at it, really understood anything. I simply have no other explanation for what is happening on the screen! At the same time, the Grand Admiral is trying to convince the Fuhrer that he has everything under control and will drown the Russians. Well, aren't you an idiot?
Still not recovering from viewing the photographs, Hitler carefully asks: “Are you sure about this?” To which Raeder begins to tell the Fuhrer in detail about the recent repressions in the USSR Navy. Hitler is clearly surprised. It turns out that he is hearing about this for the first time! "I'm giving you a chance!" - says the Fuhrer, but we no longer hear confidence in his words.
So, Hitler orders the Grand Admiral to destroy the Soviet fleet. But Hitler himself had just personally signed the “Barbarossa” strategic directive, according to which at the first stage of the war no active actions by the Kriegsmarine against the Soviet Navy were simply envisaged! All attacks on Soviet naval bases are planned to be carried out by Hermann Goering's aircraft and attacks from the land front, and the necessary force levels have already been determined for this. The filmmakers, apparently, simply were not aware that at that time the entire German Navy was concentrated against England, where it was fighting the most intense battle for the Atlantic. Therefore, in the bases of the North Sea and France there were not only almost all submarines, but all cruisers and battleships. Only auxiliary forces remained in the Baltic to contain our Baltic Fleet. In the North and on the Black Sea, the Germans had practically nothing at all.
Meanwhile, People's Commissar Kuznetsov returns to his dacha after another day of work. The People's Commissar's dacha is modest, but stylish, as it is decorated with... vinyl siding.
June 14, 1941. Kuznetsov was finally summoned to a meeting with Stalin. Stalin is very angry and says that there is no need to panic, since there will definitely be no war this year. Everyone silently nods that they understand. And then K.E. intervenes. Voroshilov, who begins to accuse Kuznetsov of non-partisanship. Stalin is angry with the People's Commissar of the Navy and orders him to urgently return the Black Sea Fleet to Sevastopol from the exercises.
In reality, by this time the exercises of the Black Sea Fleet were completed, and the ships were already returning to their bases. As for Admiral Isakov, he had actually been on the Black Sea for a long time and personally supervised these exercises. But the filmmakers, apparently, did not have time to read about this. Well, it happens!
Next we are shown the teachings themselves. They are headed by the fleet commander, Vice Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky, located with headquarters on the cruiser "Red Caucasus".
The frankly shabby appearance of the Red Navy men is surprising. They look like tramps. For some reason, no one has uniform collars or combat numbers on their uniforms. And the robes themselves are so dirty that it’s disgusting to look at them. Never, I repeat, never have sailors of the Soviet Navy worn such dirty work clothes! At the same time, the fleet commander and his retinue look quite calmly at the running dirty sailors from the wing of the navigation bridge.
Next, a certain captain-lieutenant reports to a certain captain of the 2nd rank that an order has been received to stop the exercises. And for some reason it doesn’t show the radiogram itself! Like, take my word for it! At the same time, the fleet commander himself is on the ship! Why is the radiogram not reported to him? What can I say, there is a clear disorder with the organization of service in the Black Sea Fleet.
Meanwhile, a German spy photographer openly takes photographs of warships entering the Sevastopol Bay in broad daylight right in front of the careless naval counterintelligence. At the same time, he not only takes photographs, but, apparently, transmits these photos online directly to the headquarters of Grand Admiral Raeder, no less than via WhatsApp.
Kriegsmarine headquarters again. There, Raeder, receiving real-time photographs from his spy, wants to arrange a second Tsushima for our fleet. To do this, he needs very little: to know the location of our ships in the bay with an accuracy of one cable length. And we understand that he plans to bomb our ships. But with what? After all, Raeder does not have a single aircraft under his command! All German aviation is in the hands of Air Force Commander Reichsführer Goering! Did no one really explain to the filmmakers that throughout the Second World War, the Germans did not have such a type of force as naval aviation (unlike us!). Therefore, if anyone could plan to bomb our fleet, it would be Goering, not Raeder.
Meanwhile, German pilots continue to brazenly fly over the Sevastopol Bay. And again a wonderful miracle! Luckily for us, the entrance to Sevastopol Bay is blocked by two artificial breakwaters built in 1986!
Finally, our sailors began to aim the ship's anti-aircraft guns at the potential enemy. We see that one of the artillery crews is commanded by a sailor with a combat number (at least one!). But, judging by the number, for some reason the anti-aircraft fire is being directed by a representative of the electromechanical warhead! No, there is still no order in the Black Sea Fleet!
At this time, People's Commissar Kuznetsov is very worried that he could not adequately answer Stalin, and breaks his pencils out of excitement. At the same time, as a civilian, the People's Commissar of the Navy for some reason believes that the ships entrusted to him are based not in naval bases, but in certain ports...
June 19, 1941. The People's Commissar of the Navy convenes a meeting of the Navy General Staff to discuss a very important issue. In fact, in the Navy, as in other branches of the armed forces, there are military councils to resolve the most important issues, but the filmmakers have not heard of them. The assembled Main Headquarters of the Navy also looks somewhat strange. Only the head of the operational department, deputy chief of the Main Naval Staff of the Navy, Rear Admiral V.A., came to Kuznetsov. Alafuzov, with him a certain rear admiral and two captains of the 1st rank. For some reason, one of them arrived with a pistol on his side.
A legitimate question arises: where are the officials who are really capable of making serious decisions and bearing responsibility for them: the head of the Main Political Directorate of the Navy, Army Commissar of the 2nd Rank I.V. Rogov (with whom Kuznetsov is generally obliged to jointly resolve all important issues), First Deputy People's Commissar Admiral L.M. Haller, Deputy People's Commissar for Combat Training, Vice Admiral G.I. Levchenko, Commander of the Navy Air Force, Lieutenant General S.F. Zhavoronkov, heads of departments of the General Staff?
For some reason, Kuznetsov did not invite any of them, but is conferring in a very narrow circle. But a very serious issue is being discussed - the transfer of the Navy to combat readiness No. 2, and the transfer is contrary to the opinion of Stalin...
Kuznetsov orders that the ships change their location all the time, and that German planes are turned on the opposite course and forced to land; those who do not obey are shot down.
Later in the conversation, Kuznetsov again shows naval dullness, calling the noble naval report an ordinary army report. The thought involuntarily creeps in, maybe, in fact, he was appointed People’s Commissar too early?
Then the two admirals and two captains of the 1st rank present by silently standing up demonstrate that they support the daring directive of their boss to bring the Navy to combat readiness No. 2. And we understand that they are very brave people.
Meanwhile, at his headquarters, Karl Dönitz is still admiring the spy photographs. Moreover, if his officers are dressed in the Kriegsmarine uniform of the authorized black color, then the Grand Admiral himself is wearing some kind of green army uniform with admiral's stripes. Why the director needed this stupid kitsch is unclear!
Change of frame. The restless wife of Admiral Isakov comes to Kuznetsov’s wife and begins to scare her that the obstinate husband might be shot. Here it turns out that for some reason Kuznetsov’s second wife’s name is Ira, although in real life her name was Vera Nikolaevna.
And the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky, still does not want to go to his regular command post in order to lead the fleet from there at such a critical moment. He continues to walk along the navigation bridge of the “Red Caucasus” and look through binoculars at German reconnaissance aircraft flying over the bay. Finally, having received permission from the People's Commissar to fire, our anti-aircraft gunners open fire. One German plane immediately explodes (which, unfortunately, is not true), the rest fly away.
Oktyabrsky watches the last mythical German steamer leaving the Sevastopol Bay. And he thinks meaningfully...
And the Germans are already sending a note of protest to Stalin. He calls Kuznetsov. Stalin interrogates Kuznetsov, why is he being willful and violating his order not to open fire? Kuznetsov informs Stalin that the war, according to his calculations, will begin on June 22 (he already knows this for certain!) and he just wants to save the people and the fleet. Stalin jokes gloomily: “And on June 23, I’m waiting for you at my Near Dacha. Let's sit, talk, drink good wine. I’ll ask Lavrenty Pavlovich to send a car for you!” Kuznetsov turns pale, but holds the blow.
21st of June. People's Commissariat of the Navy. Kuznetsov decides to go to the end and orders Admiral Isakov, who has returned from Sevastopol: “We can’t wait any longer! Prepare a code about transferring the Navy to combat readiness No. 1.” Isakov rolls his eyes: “We will all be shot!” Brave Kuznetsov grins: “Perhaps! But if war happens, thousands will die!”
After this, the People's Commissar calls the fleet commanders by phone. The first to respond was the commander of the Baltic Fleet, Vice Admiral V.F. Tributs. Kuznetsov orders him to transfer the fleet to combat readiness No. 1 and beat the Germans to defeat! Tributz tugs at his jacket in excitement. A nice detail: next to the table there is a modern cheap Chinese souvenir - a model of a sailing ship...
And then Kuznetsov was informed that an order had come from the General Staff to put the Navy on combat readiness No. 1. Kuznetsov and Isakov look at each other with relief. Now their lives are no longer in danger.
Next in front of us is the cockpit of an unknown ship of the Baltic Fleet. Everyone sleeps there, but for some reason they don’t sleep properly, undressed under the blankets, but lie on top of the blankets right in their dirty robes. A close-up shows a torn sock, with a dirty toe visible through the hole. What the director wanted to say by this is unclear. The alarm sounds...
In the frame is the Black Sea battleship Paris Commune. For some reason, the battleship is not at anchor or on a barrel, but simply drifting somewhere on the open sea. Apparently, the computer scientists were not explained that a mooring barrel and a coastal contour should be added to the battleship. Happens!
For some reason, on the Paris Commune, unlike the Baltic ship, it is lunch time (although both fleets are in the same time zone). This lunch is going very strangely. The sailors each stand in line with their own bowl in the galley, and the cook, through the open window, pours porridge into each person’s bowl in turn. I explain that the crew with their bowls never stood in a crowd at the galley, but there were specially allocated, according to the duty schedule, sailors with tanks (they were called “tank tanks”) to receive the first and second courses for ten people at once. The rest were waiting for the tank crews in their cubicles. What you showed, sorry, is complete nonsense!
An alarm sounds on the Black Sea battleship, and everyone runs with their bowls to the combat posts. The preparation of the ship for battle and voyage begins.
Next we see the turret compartment of the universal caliber guns of the “Paris Commune”. There is complete horror there. Everything is covered with a thick layer of rust, even the shell, which the dirty sailors hardly push into the breech, is covered with rust. How one can go to war with such an attitude towards the entrusted military equipment and weapons is incomprehensible to the mind!
Of course, we understand that these scenes were filmed on the old museum cruiser "Mikhail Kutuzov", where the artillery equipment is now in a very disrepair. This could not have happened on real ships of the Black Sea Fleet in 1941. But the impression is still disgusting. Why couldn’t the film director take half a liter of ball paint and at least cover up the rusty squalor a little to improve the picture? Were you not smart enough or did you save your budget?
Next we see Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky finally reaching his office. He stands and casually looks out the window. Why, at a time when the fleet was transferred to full combat readiness, its commander did not arrive at his command post, where all fleet management is concentrated (operational duty officers, warning system, operational communications, etc.), but remained in the office from where he commanded? Is it simply impossible to fight? Unclear! Further - more: hearing a rumble in the air, Oktyabrsky begins to look with interest at the approaching German planes... But in fact, it’s interesting, why are they flying towards us?
An incomprehensible senior lieutenant, either an adjutant or an ensign, is hovering next to the fleet commander. Finally, the city is darkened, and the German pilots lose their bearings. But suddenly the entrance beacon flashes. It turns out that the lighthouse is the father of this very senior lieutenant. Therefore, he rushes to the lighthouse, where he enters into battle and kills the German saboteur, who had previously managed to kill his lighthouse father. The efficient senior lieutenant extinguishes the beacon. The Germans lose their bearings and begin dropping bombs anywhere on sleeping Sevastopol. Explosions roar. Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky is still looking out the window. Our anti-aircraft guns are firing. Burning German planes are falling...
I have a question for the filmmakers, where did they read about the bombing of Sevastopol on June 22, 1941? If they show me the source, I will apologize to them. But, alas, they won’t show it, because no one purposefully bombed Sevastopol on June 22. The Germans had a much more serious task that day - they were trying to mine the exit from Sevastopol Bay in order to block the Black Sea Fleet there. Therefore, they dropped by parachute at the entrance and in the bay itself not bombs at all, but electromagnetic mines. Several of these mines accidentally fell on the shore, where they exploded, but these were not the bombs that for some reason were shown to us in close-up in the movies. This fact has been known to everyone for a long time, why is it so stupid to try to deceive the viewer? Why not tell the truth that Grand Admiral Raeder really wanted to bottle up the Black Sea Fleet, which would show us the Germans as truly serious opponents, and not idiots?..
Meanwhile, the movie Grand Admiral Raeder is kayaking in his country pond! Here, you understand, a world war on two fronts begins, and he doesn’t give a damn. Perhaps Raeder was actually a desperate don’t care, but still, I think, not to that extent.
Finally, Raeder, tired, swims up to the pier, and is told that the bombing (?!) of Sevastopol failed and the aviation suffered heavy losses.
Raeder shouts in rage: “Shit! Shit!" After which he goes kayaking on the pond again...
The scene is not only completely false, but also stupid. I repeat once again that the Germans did not purposefully bomb Sevastopol, but threw mines at the entrance channel; besides, there is no data on large losses of German aircraft in that raid. Yes, there could not have been large losses, since the go-ahead for anti-aircraft fire was given when most of the planes had already emptied their bomb bays. And even if someone were actually shot down, Raeder would be sad, because the planes were not his, but Goering’s.
In fact, the main drama then unfolded at the command post of the Black Sea Fleet. This drama with the decision to open fire should have been shown! The fact is that the Black Sea Fleet could not figure out whether our planes were in the air, and therefore no one wanted to take responsibility. Oktyabrsky generally avoided making a decision - like an outsider, repeating only one thing: “Act according to the situation. If there’s even one of our planes in the sky, I’ll shoot you!” By the way, Moscow responded the same way...
As a result, the order to open fire at your own risk was given by the operational duty officer of the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, Captain 2nd Rank N.T. Rybalko. It was he who really risked his head at that moment, and not anyone else.
It’s strange that at one time VGIK did not explain to the filmmakers that if you are making not an alternative historical film, but a real historical film, then the events should be shown as they happened in reality, and not invent a stupid gag.
The finale of the first episode is truly enchanting. Despite the invasion of the German army, the heaviest border battles, the complete loss of control of the fronts and armies, and general confusion, Stalin, sitting surrounded by his comrades and clearly burdened by idleness, summons Kuznetsov, whom he interrogates about the losses of the fleet, although a short call was enough for this. Did Stalin really not have other more important things to do on June 22? Kuznetsov reports that the fleet has no losses. Stalin seemed not to hear him and asked again: “Report the losses of the fleet!” “No losses!” – Kuznetsov says proudly again. End of the first episode...
Needless to say, nothing like the absurd confrontation between Stalin and Kuznetsov shown actually happened, and never could have happened. In fact, Kuznetsov did not create any ad-libs on the eve of the war. There were no objections to Stalin in the Kremlin, nor a stupid vote with his “headquarters” when he, supposedly in defiance of Stalin, declared combat readiness No. 2 in the fleets. In reality, Kuznetsov only quickly and clearly followed the instructions of Stalin and the General Staff, showing reasonable initiative within the limits of what was permitted. This turned out to be quite enough for the Navy to meet June 22 in readiness to repel the first strike. Alas, in the border military districts, due to both objective and subjective factors, everything turned out completely differently.
I will no longer dwell on all the circumstances and nuances of the Navy’s transition to combat readiness No. 2 and combat readiness No. 1. This would take up too much space and turn the review into a historical article. I refer everyone interested in this topic and who wants to truly understand the intricacies of this story to my books “Stalin and the USSR Navy. 1922–1941" (Veche publishing house, 2021), "Stalin and the USSR Navy. 1941–1953" (Veche publishing house, 2021) and "Nikolai Kuznetsov. Stalin’s obstinate henchman” (Library of AFK Sistema, 2022).
In fact, Kuznetsov managed to really do a lot for the Navy on the eve of the war. Alas, for some reason all of his real accomplishments and achievements remained outside the sight of the director and the entire large team of screenwriters, who decided instead of the truth to pour a tub of spreading cranberries onto the heads of inexperienced viewers. Alas, literally every minute of screen time is permeated with lies and incompetence in everything (from uniforms and naval life to political decisions). One can only wonder how the creators of the film “Admiral Kuznetsov” managed to mess up so much! But we only watched and commented on the first episode!
It's hard to even imagine what awaits us in the next episodes. Therefore, we await their release and new authorial discoveries with trepidation. After all, money has already been paid for the alternative history show “Admiral Kuznetsov”, which means it will be continued...
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